Hello Amelia and welcome to our forum :-)
As a total
newbie located, so sez your profile, in Chicago, you'll no doubt get your start towards becoming a sailor on Lake Michigan. That lake, as we all know is big enuff to substitute for an ocean, so what you can learn there will stand you in good stead anywhere you go. :-)
As a
novice you'll need to get a grip on whether your interest is in
racing or in cruising. If in cruising, then you need to be clear about whether you want to go coastwise cruising only or whether your desire is to go dicing with death where "the stormy winds do blow and the scattered waters rave".
These three rubrics offer entirely different joys and require entirely different mindsets. Once you've decided "where you fit" in the world of sailing, we can begin to discuss what sort of boat it would be desirable for you to have, because the design and fitting out of the vessel must, like your mindset, be appropriate for what you will be asking of it.
Basic boat handling I could teach you in a weekend. There is really nothing to it. HOWEVER — becoming an "able bodied" sailor, let alone a
skipper, takes much experience and much "book larnin'".
Remember that very few of us in this forum were born into a seafaring tradition, which means that the majority of our members had to start with a blank slate. That means, in turn, that no question is too simple, too "silly" or too "stupid", to ask, so don't hold back :-)! Ask all the questions you can think of, and we will give you all the help we can.
So — over to you :-)!
TrentePieds